If you have read any of my previous posts, then you know I love being outside. I draw on my many outdoor experiences when writing my women’s adventure fiction novels. I am always trying to get my fiance to join me on my adventures. He is super busy with work so I don’t get to have him with me as often as I’d like. But we do make time for dates.

Pre-covid times (so bizarre to now live in a world that has a before and after) we would go out for supper together once a week. It was fun to get all dressed up and try out new restaurants of differing cuisines. I discovered a love of Iranian food on one of our dates. 🙂

Restaurants are shut down again in our area. TakeOut in front of the TV is much less romantic. LOL.

I thought outside the box this week and asked Frank to go canoeing with me. We dug out my old canoe that hadn’t been used in about six years and gave it a try on Saturday afternoon. It was a gorgeous, sunshiny day. We weren’t sure if it would actually float anymore, but we were game to try.

We set the canoe in the local river, ten minutes from our house. Often the river is quite low in the summer but being May there was plenty of water from recent rains. We got in and stayed tied to a tree to make sure it didn’t immediately take on water. Success! It floated.

We set off downriver. I am used to a solo kayak so working as a team in a canoe was quite challenging for me. I kept trying to paddle on both sides and go fast. I like to get a workout in where ever I can. 😉 Frank suggested we just let the kayak drift down river and relax on the water. He had a good point. We wanted to spend time together, not race to the end.

It was so peaceful. We passed a few other people on the river, but the majority of the time we were happily alone. It was nice to chat, but we also just enjoyed the silence together. We pointed out interesting things on the shore and wildlife. There were muskrats swimming through the water, Canadian geese nesting on shore, and swallows nesting in a dead tree trunk that looked like a totem pole. Spring is so beautiful and full of life.

We floated beneath a covered bridge and saw children playing on the shore. We laughed as a little boy dumped the water out of his overflowing rubber boots, picturing the antics of our own children.

We maneuvered a couple of tricky areas where logs had created a damn that we had to go around and another where the water shallowed out and we thought we would run aground. We were proud that the first time we canoed together we were able to work as a team and pass all the obstacles that arose.

We canoed for one and a half hours. By this time the sun was lowering in the sky and the insects were finding our sun warmed skin. We pulled the canoe out of the water and drove home.

It felt so nice to spend time outside in nature together. To slow down and talk. To have yet another new experience together. The whitewater rafting trip we did last summer was another new and completely different date. As Frank always says: life isn’t about things, it is about experiences. We decided that the next time we go canoeing, we will start earlier in the day and go for a full three hours to reach the next take out location. I can’t wait.

What was your most unique date? Have your dates changed since the pandemic?

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